Yuan Lian looked down from above at the person who seemed somewhat familiar, then slightly tilted her head, not bothering to recall where she had seen him before.
She looked at him and spoke, her tone somewhat indifferent, “What is it?”
Despite Zuo Xihuang’s crazed demeanor when arguing with Yan Hang, he dared not show any arrogance in front of Yuan Lian. He tried his best to remain calm, hoping to barely save his life in front of the Xianzun, but his mind was still a mess. When he heard Yuan Lian’s question, he was so stunned that he couldn’t find his words.
Yuan Lian snorted lightly, staring at him as she asked, “Weren’t you the one who wanted to see the Xianzun of Buzhou Mountain? Didn’t you want me to come out? Now I’m standing right in front of you, so go ahead—what do you want from me?”
Zuo Xihuang closed his eyes, cursing Yan Hang in his heart for being so naive. A mere secret realm trial had caused such a commotion, even inviting Yuan Lian Xianzun to watch. He should have known better… If he had known, he would never have been so reckless.
He was now suspecting that one of his close confidants might be Yan Hang’s spy, secretly informing Wanyi Sect of his plan to cause trouble today, setting a trap to catch him… no, to catch a dragon in shallow water.
However, while he was cursing Yan Hang for being cunning, he also knew that although Yan Hang was indeed crafty, he wouldn’t dare use such tricks on Yuan Lian.
Zuo Xihuang deliberately speculated like this, not wanting to admit that he was so unlucky. If he died here, he would be an unjustly wronged ghost.
Yuan Lian was getting impatient. She moved her fingers, and Zuo Xihuang’s head, which he had barely managed to lift, was pressed heavily into the mud again, filling his mouth with muddy water. At the same time, he felt the oppressive grip on his spiritual foundation.
If he didn’t save himself, in less than two breaths, his spiritual foundation would be completely shattered, leaving him with no chance of survival.
Zuo Xihuang was quite a character. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his lungs. If he were a mortal, he would have been dead by now, but a Jade Immortal doesn’t die easily. Yuan Lian hadn’t struck to kill, allowing him to use spiritual energy to repair his organs, barely avoiding death on the spot.
“Lian Zun… please spare my life…”
Yuan Lian replied coldly, “Who wants your life? Weren’t you the one looking for me?”
“Lian, Lian Zun, please allow me to explain, I…” He couldn’t help but groan, “I was just dissatisfied with Yan Hang relying on you for everything, so I… I…”
Perhaps due to his severe injuries, the sinister expression on his face completely disappeared, and in front of Yuan Lian, he appeared submissive and humble.
Hearing this, Yuan Lian seemed to think she should recognize him, raising an eyebrow in confusion, “Who are you?”
Zuo Xihuang struggled to lift his head to look up at Yuan Lian, feeling a bit bitter as he realized she seemed to have no impression of him at all.
“I come from… the Forbidden Demon Cave…”
At this moment, Yan Hang had arrived, standing with the excited elders and peak masters around. He spoke with a smile, “Master, you may not know, but this man is the famous Demon Slayer Jade Immortal, Zuo Xihuang…”
He paused, adding with a subtle expression, “He is a protector under Lan Yu… Xianzun. On his own, he probably wouldn’t have the guts.”
Yuan Lian’s expression remained unchanged, “Oh? So, are you saying your master sent you to provoke me?”
Zuo Xihuang almost spat out another mouthful of blood. He struggled to crawl forward a step, using his last bit of strength to refute, “Absolutely not! Lian Zun, Lan Zun would never…”
“Master,” Yan Hang interrupted Zuo Xihuang’s words without a trace, “Lan Yu Xianzun has recently ascended and is now at the peak of his power. We wouldn’t dare provoke him lightly. But now, the Forbidden Demon Cave has come to provoke us… If they knew you had already emerged, it would make sense.”
Zuo Xihuang gritted his teeth in anger but couldn’t speak.
Yuan Lian didn’t believe this, seriously refuting, “I have no connection with Lan Yu. If not for Wanyi Sect, why would he cause trouble?”
Yan Hang was momentarily stunned, carefully observing Yuan Lian’s expression, realizing she genuinely thought this way.
Zuo Xihuang certainly didn’t want Yuan Lian to think Lan Yu Xianzun was provoking her, but hearing this, he couldn’t accept it either. Overwhelmed with emotion, he couldn’t hold on any longer and fainted without saying a word.
Seeing him like this, Yan Hang held back the reminder he was about to give—this outcome was better than adding fuel to the fire, so he kept quiet, avoiding offending the God King.
Yuan Lian didn’t care about Zuo Xihuang’s life or death. She glanced at Yan Hang, having no interest in dealing with their enemies, and casually said, “Take him away. Do as you wish, no need to report back to me.”
At this moment, the Xiao Canglou Secret Realm, having been struck twice, was on the verge of collapse. Ling Yao and several Spirit Light stage elders had already brought the disciples out, watching the secret realm that had existed in Wanyi Sect for nearly ten thousand years now teetering on the brink of destruction, feeling heartbroken and hating Zuo Xihuang even more.
However, the disciples who had just escaped death and emerged from the secret realm focused their attention on Yuan Lian, who was surrounded by a group of sect Immortal Lords not far away.
Except for a few newcomers, the rest were in a daze, “Who… is that?”
“Are you stupid?” Another quickly snapped back to reality, eyes shining, “Even with your toes, you should know that’s, that’s Lian Zun ahhhh!”
Indeed, although the outside world believed Wanyi Sect was backed by Buzhou Mountain, and Yuan Lian had indeed helped Yan Hang a few times, preventing Wanyi Sect from being swallowed whole during turbulent times, her relationship with Wanyi Sect wasn’t particularly close. Among the core elite disciples, very few had actually seen Yuan Lian in person.
Now seeing her in the flesh… this wasn’t an external incarnation but the real Yuan Lian Xianzun herself, how could they not be excited!
Among the disciples whose eyes were shining brightly, eager to take ten or eight swords from Zuo Xihuang to see Yuan Lian appear, three stood out with unusual reactions.
Chang Songzhu was the best among them. She was initially surprised and shocked, but this only lasted a short time before she quickly regained her composure, focusing intently in their direction.
Kuang Yuming’s reaction was even more intense than those disciples who had worshipped the Xianzun for hundreds of years. When he saw Yuan Lian’s face, he almost jumped up, but unfortunately, there were too many high-level cultivators present, and the spiritual energy they emitted was so oppressive that he couldn’t breathe. He instinctively looked for Feng Yunqing.
Kuang Yuming was usually tired of Feng Yunqing’s calm, seemingly emotionless demeanor, but he couldn’t believe that if his senior sister really stood before him again, he could remain indifferent.
Feng Yunqing wasn’t like the previous Yuan Lian. He was a person with normal emotional threads, so he couldn’t possibly have no emotional fluctuations. On the contrary, his usual calmness and restraint were to suppress the inner turmoil and anxiety, making him appear particularly emotionless.
This time was different from encountering Yuan Lian’s scattered soul threads on Buzhou Mountain. Those soul threads were muddled, and with all of Yuan Lian’s split souls just reunited, she wasn’t accustomed yet, so her resemblance to Yun Lian was only in the outline of her features.
But this time, Yuan Lian had grown accustomed to the slightly filled emotional threads, and her face showed subtle emotional fluctuations, making her already six parts similar to Yun Lian.
Feng Yunqing looked at the face he had grown up with, intimately familiar with, and the impact he felt was definitely more than Kuang Yuming. But he did nothing—or rather, he couldn’t do anything.
The jade pendant hanging on Feng Yunqing’s chest had been heating up since earlier, and now it was almost scorching, but he ignored it.
He just stood at a distance, observing the high and mighty Yuan Lian Xianzun with an extremely calm and cautious gaze. With over a thousand eyes focused on her, Feng Yunqing was inconspicuous. If not, such a careful and deep gaze would have been noticed long ago.
He observed every inch of the Xianzun’s appearance, her every move, even the subtle changes in her expressions of displeasure, contemplation, or indifference.
Not alike.
Feng Yunqing thought, these two are completely different.
They shouldn’t be similar either. One is from the lower realm, a Qi Condensation stage female cultivator who has already perished, and the other is a high and unreachable Xianzun from the divine realm. They are worlds apart. Even if they coincidentally have similar appearances, there shouldn’t be any other similarities.
But why can’t I calm down? Feng Yunqing examined his emotions.
Is it the disbelief after losing a spouse? Is it a baseless hope?
No.
It’s the marriage contract!
Feng Yunqing was shocked, realizing the true reason for his abnormality—the marriage contract he had with Yun Lian was restless.
Although extremely subtle, almost imperceptible, there was a fluctuation. Feng Yunqing knew his feelings couldn’t be wrong.
This marriage contract, which maintained their dao partner relationship, reacted weakly upon seeing Yuan Lian Xianzun!
For a normal dao couple, the marriage contract is the closest bond. Even separated by thousands of miles, they can sense each other, let alone face-to-face. The strong presence of the marriage contract constantly reminds both parties that the person before them is connected to their primordial spirit, inseparable.
Now the marriage contract moved, but so slightly. What does this mean…
While Feng Yunqing maintained an outward calm, internally calculating and thinking intensely, Yuan Lian suddenly turned her head, looking towards the side where Feng Yunqing and the trial disciples were.
Her previously impatient and cold expression softened slightly, not noticeable to others, but immediately caught by Feng Yunqing, who was closely watching her.
Once she relaxed, showing such an uncommon expression, it neutralized her inherent coldness, increasing her resemblance to Yun Lian by another degree.
Yuan Lian’s gaze swept over the gathered disciples, her lips moving slightly, raising her hand to gesture “come here.”
At that moment, Feng Yunqing could almost hear the sound of his heart pounding violently and rapidly in his chest.
Yun Lian…?